


Learn something new every day

by SillyNonnyFicsAreForFandoms



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Canon-Typical Humor, Crying, Fourth Wall? What Fourth Wall?, Hospitals, Hypoglycemia, I honestly have no clue whatever tags, No beta we die like the men Kirishima would want us to be, Questionable Toon Abuse, Seizures, Wakko Warner Centric, Yakko is a good big brother, method acting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28759686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SillyNonnyFicsAreForFandoms/pseuds/SillyNonnyFicsAreForFandoms
Summary: Wakko was known as the 'eating stuff guy'. He was known that way for a reason, drawn a specific way with intent, and... Well, a mishap in method acting sheds some light as to why.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 68





	Learn something new every day

**Author's Note:**

> Did I switch hyperfixations? Yes. Do I really care? Nope. I'll get to the requests but DP/AOP is not really anything close to a main fandom atm so I wanted to write some animaniacs.

Everyone knew Wakko was the “eating stuff guy”. It was his thing, and absolutely no one questioned it. Was it edible? Wakko would eat it. Was it not edible? Wakko would eat it. Was it sugary? You bet he'd eat it! And as a result, it was supposed to be funny if he went an entire episode  _ without _ consuming anything, apparently. Not just one sketch, oh no. The entire episode. Even when they were just running through a different sketch or interacting with other characters, Wakko was not allowed to eat. 

Admittedly, it also might be because Wakko had gotten loose in the cafeteria during an episode of sleep eating. Punishment was something TP was very familiar with, in context of the Warner siblings. They ended up in a lot of trouble, in and out of sketches, just for being what they were; toon kids. Laughter was their blood and mischief was their air. Not literally, but you get the idea. 

So, when Wakko got the order that the whole joke for the episode would be that he was hungry and couldn't eat, because of some bet he was supposed to have made with his siblings, running all around until he locks himself in the water tower, he wasn't sure how to feel. Yakko and Dot found it hilarious, of course, because they knew he'd be able to eat in between shots. Or, if they got lucky enough, they wouldn't need to reshoot anything. As it said in the intro song, there was no real script. Instead, they were presented with a prompt or general idea a few days before, with any songs for that sketch, and they'd use that time to plan. If the directors didn't like something, or they missed something they did like on the camera, then they did a reshoot or stop it entirely to redo. The only thing with actual stage direction were the songs, and that was only out of necessity. 

Which meant that, just like he did with Potty Emergency, Wakko would need to show up to the timeskip shots as hungry as he would be if it were actually happening. Luckily, Wakko was a good enough actor at faking being hungry from years locked in the tower, when Yakko was the only one who understood Hammerspace outside of gags. Back then, he was the one who got all their meals, and he often used it to grab books of all kinds to teach his Sibs about the world they lived in. 

"Oh, c'mon, it's just one sketch! You're not gonna die," Dot rolled her eyes, adjusting her flower in the mirror, though her reflection just moved it back to being crooked.

"Besides, ol' Grim isn't gonna wanna see us anytime soon! They take you, they get the rest of us." Yakko laughed, grabbing one of his many books from under his bunk. Filming wasn't for another three hours, so they had time to waste unless they wanted to torment Ralph or Scratchy some.

"What a pity,"

Wakko yawned softly, his stomach already rumbling. He got hungry rather often, he always had ever since they first popped off the page. He was drawn that way. 

"I hope we can do it in one take," Wakko complained, "I'm hungry." 

"Well, little brother, I'm sure we can find something to take your mind off of food," 

They both perked up at that, the eldest of the three looking at the creeked open shield shaped door, raising three fingers. 

Three…

Two…

One. 

"Oh, Hello Nurse!" Ralph's voice could be heard, "I like your new outfit!"

"How'd you know about that?" Dot asked, "Ralph doesn't usually come around for another twenty minutes." 

"The author couldn't think of another way to sequence us into a timeskip."

-oh shit- 

"Hey, watch the language, this is a gen rated fic!" It wasn't. It was intended to be, until this specific joke, and the intent of where this story was going made it change. Yakko knew this, but the joke was too obvious not to make. Besides, what else was he to do in between shots? Wakko was on his mid skit shots, already complaining about how hungry he felt. Even getting dizzy. Feeling faint.

"I dunno, you look opaque to me," Dot laughed, trying to push her hand through her brother. It was all in good humor, and while they had been running around a lot, Wakko obviously had it the worst for this skit. The director had redone this one section fifteen times because Wakko kept moving so fast his head would be left in the dust and the camera wouldn't focus. The boy looked half ready to slam the man upside the head with his gag bag. They had toon-cams which could keep up with their speed, but if they wanted one to handle the head delay then it really needed to be focused. 

But every time it focused on the head delay, Wakko didn't do it. So, they redid it until he did something the director was pleased with. And as they were on set in the water tower, because this shot had lead in to a scene with them sleeping thanks to Wakko's offhand comment of 'maybe it'll be better in the morning'. 

By the time the director was pleased and they could go on, Wakko was pure white and actively losing color. 

"Hey, buddy, you're looking as white as the paper we're drawn on," Yakko quipped, placing his hand on his brother's forehead, "and you're burning up!"

"Really?" Wakko slurred, stumbling over to their bunk beds. The director and camera crew were grabbing the night cams so they could even film. "I feel like it's freeshing…" he started climbing up the ladder, passing by Dot who was already in her bed. Yakko always got in last, since it was the easiest for him to get in and out of his bed verses his siblings'. 

"Maybe you're coming down with something?" Dot suggested, "if you can even get sick."

"Immmmnn finee.." Wakko rolled his eyes, but the way he swayed and slurred didn't instill confidence. The kid was almost in his bed when suddenly he tensed, beginning to shake. Starting with his ears and tail, traveling to his arms and up his legs, a moment later bodily as he let go of the ladder, his breathing unsteady

"Woah, woah, woah baby bro!" Yakko exclaimed, rushing to catch the other child before he hit the ground. Barely managing to do so, he gently shook him to try to get his attention, "Wakko! C'mon, this isn't funny!"

But Wakko wasn't laughing. Neither was Dot. The middle child's eyes went stark white as convulsions wracked his body, something bursting as his blue sweater began to turn a color all too familiar to any toons. Ink black, with the same warm undertone that made up their lifeblood. His voice was cracking and Yakko held him as close as he could, feeling as if his own ink were freezing over as dread set in. Dot jumped down from her bed and her own breathing hastened. 

"What's wrong with him, Yakko?" Dot asked, holding onto Wakko's gloved hand, "He looks like someone added alcohol to water lines!" 

"Hello Nurse…" 

"Yakko, this isn't time to be fantasising!"

"No, go get Hello Nurse! Now!" 

Dot nodded and rushed out of their water tower. She wasn't the fastest, that honor belonged to Yakko, but she knew the lot and where the nurse would be. She had to, how else would they avoid her whenever they had their shenanigans? And right about now, as they had already harassed her once that day, she would be hiding with Harley Quinn. As the woman was another doctor who ocasionally worked with Dr. Scratchnsniff, the two had become rather close. Not to mention, she looked enough like a clown that Wakko wouldn't let them go near the pair, no matter how pretty Hello Nurse looked. 

So she bolted for the medical offices, running straight by the normal office the nurse took residence in, all the way to the Toon Talk With Toon department. That was where Harley stayed when she wasn't filming. Lo and behold, the two were chatting over paperwork when she kicked in the door. 

"It's Wakko! There's something very wrong!"

-this might be a bad idea-

"So, you couldn't bother to actually write about how we got here?" Yakko asked from the ER's waiting room, rolling his eyes. 

"Lemme explain what happened, then," Dot shrugged, snuggling up to her big brother. "So, Hello Nurse came to the water tower and checked on Wakko. She said she couldn't treat him there, but they couldn't move him until he stopped seizing. Wakko passed out and they brought him to the ER, where we're waiting for some form of results about his condition." 

"You said it, sister." Yakko sighed, pulling his baby sister close. They weren't even allowed to see Wakko, not in the ambulance or the ER until he was considered 'stable'. What even was stable when it came to them? They were weird even by toon standards. Granted, they'd gone all the way to Toon Town for a specialist, but that meant it took even more hoops to jump through when it came to paperwork. Dr. Scratchnsniff was kind enough to drive the kids over to sit in the waiting room, knowing how likely they were to steal the batmobile or something of the sort. It wouldn't be the first time and it definitely wouldn't be the last. 

Did he stay with them for long though? No. It was past midnight, and with Yakko using humor to cope with this kind of stress, he couldn't deal with them without sleep. So he dropped them off and stayed for an hour before leaving Hello Nurse in charge of the siblings. 

That was six hours ago. Dot was already asleep, curled up in her brother's lap, while Yakko kept singing to himself to stay awake. He'd gone through every song he knew four times over, and was on his eighteenth rendition of countries of the world when the door finally opened and the nurse walked out, looking just as tired as they felt. 

"Yakko, Dot," Hello Nurse said, walking over to the two, "I've got good news."

"It's about time! Is he okay? What even happened?" Yakko asked, trying not to wake up his baby sister. "Can we go see him?"

"Wakko is alright, just unconscious. He began seizing a few times after arriving here, just as he did in the water tower. Wakko has what might be the most extreme case of hypoglycemia that I've ever seen, which explains his massive appetite."

"What's that…?"

"Hypoglycemia is when your body doesn't produce enough Glucose on it's own, meaning blood sugar drops rapidly. It causes sweats, fevers, weakness in the body, and in extreme cases it can cause fainting, seizures and comas. If left untreated even then, it can result in death."

Yakko was sure his entire body was frozen solid. That explained a lot, surely, but why had this never come up before? In over sixty two years, it never came up. Ever. To be fair, they were stuck in the water tower, and Hammerspace kept them well fed. That was probably it. 

"Would you like to go see your brother?" Hello Nurse asked, "we can talk more about this when he wakes up." 

There was no extra energy to make jokes. He couldn't even think properly, so he just nodded and picked up Dot before following behind the woman. He could hear the other doctors and nurses whispering as they walked through the long, blank halls. 

_ "Aren't those the Warners? I can't imagine what they're going through, their brother almost died…"  _

_ "We're just lucky he didn't hit his head harder." _

_ "He's crying, should we get him some tissues?" _

Crying? When did he start crying? Sure enough, he felt the wetness on his cheeks, trailing down to dampen Dot's fur. Oh. Shortly, Hello Nurse opened the door to Wakko's room, where their brother was laying. He had an IV drip attached to him, the heart monitor's steady beeping a soothing rhythm. 

"I'll leave you be for now," the nurse sighed, closing the door behind them. 

Yakko walked over to his brother, noting how the color had returned to him. He looked so small, like that. The hospital bed was far too big, likely due to the larger toons which would come through. 

Gingerly, he set down Dot next to Wakko, watching as they instinctively curled up together in their sleep. Wakko always needed someone to cuddle with when he was stressed, especially so if it had been a long day. Yakko smiled, petting his brother's head gently. He wasn't wearing his normal bright red hat, his cerulean sweater had been replaced with a hospital gown, and it was all so odd for him. 

"Goodnight you two," Yakko whispered, pulling up a chair and a book from nowhere. "Sweet dreams." And suddenly, it was like when they were trapped in the water tower. Just the three of them, and Yakko would watch over them as they slept. That was his responsibility as the eldest, to make sure they were safe, happy and healthy. 

Man, he'd really blown that one… Still, he couldn't have blown it too badly, and there was always tomorrow to do better. 

**Author's Note:**

> Somewhere, in a lab not too far from Burbank, two mice glanced around their cage.   
> "Pinky, did you hear what I heard?"   
> "I think so, Brain, but if we're reacting to it, doesn't that mean that the author forgets we can't break the fourth wall?"   
> "What are you talking about, you nincompoop? I'm talking about the last lab tech clocking out for the night! It's time to prepare for tonight!"  
> And, well, I'm sure you all know what happens next.


End file.
